April 2014 marks Starbucks’ fourth annual Global Month of Service, in which Starbucks employees organize and participate in service projects serving their local community.

We were thrilled when our friends from the Region 13 Starbucks stores decided to collaborate with YouthBuild Philly on a service project this year, and arranged for participating partners to work side by side with students and staff on a renovation site in Strawberry Mansion.  Our construction squads had already done a great deal of demolition at the site, leaving the house and backyard full of debris that needed removal.

Several Starbucks employees from stores throughout the Philadelphia area joined us at the worksite on April 24 to lend a hand.  The assembled crew socialized for a little while over Starbucks coffee and baked goods, then donned safety gear and got to work passing debris through the rowhome to a dumpster parked out front.

This was difficult, tiring work – and not very glamorous, either – but with the volunteers from Region 13 we were able to  move all the debris in a single morning , which is twice as fast as usual. Thanks to them we are that much closer to turning this home on Gordon Street into a comfortable, affordable home for some first-time, low-income homebuyer!

Click through the slideshow for photos from the day: